Veteran's grave to get VA marker

Lubbock Cemetery employee Sylvia Chapa discovered that Lt. Claud W. Paulger's grave did not have a veteran's marker. Paulger went through the Bataan Death March before being killed at Subick Bay during World War II. Chapa is now working to get a marker on the grave. (Zach Long)

Veteran’s grave to get VA marker

Lt. Claude W. Paulger died Dec. 15, 1944, on a prison ship sunk in Subic Bay, Philippine Islands. His body was never recovered, but the headstone in City of Lubbock Cemetery marking his life and passing will soon have added to it the traditional notation of his service to the country as a veteran.

But that Veterans Administration notation might never have been added had it not been for the quest by Sylvia Chapa to grant Paulger his due.

Chapa, coordinator of the cemetery, noticed Paulger’s headstone in June while seeking a shady spot for a quick lunch. Although the marker noted Paulger’s rank and the circumstances of his World War II death, she thought it odd there was no VA marker recognizing his service and in which branch of the military he served.

It turns out Paulger was originally from Oklahoma but had come to Lubbock for the premedical program at Texas Tech. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was stationed in the Philippines. After being captured by the Japanese and surviving the infamous Bataan Death March, Paulger was among about 1,000 prisoners packed in an unmarked Japanese ship that was sunk by America forces.

“He deserves to be recognized after what he went through,” Chapa said.

Lake Alan Henry close to quenching city’s thirst

By spring, the 10-year effort to augment Lubbock’s water supply via a city-owned reservoir should be complete as the pipeline from Lake Alan Henry is completed.

The project began in 2002 but was — and, to some extent, still is — criticized as an unnecessary and expensive approach to meeting the city’s water demands. But given the current drought, the loss of the nearly dry Lake Meredith as a water source and tightening restrictions on drawing water from the Ogalalla aquifer, the pipeline appears to be arriving just in time.

Less asked of taxpayers to fund county hospital

Much has been made about government trimming costs and finding new efficiencies during the economic downturn, but University Medical Center added a unique and appreciated move to the mix by requesting its tax rate be reduced.

The reduction is small — 0.12072 from last year’s 0.12081, or about nine cents a year on a $100,000 property — but it is large in symbolism. The UMC board obviously understands that every cent it takes from a taxpayer is a penny the taxpayer earned. Taking the least amount possible to meet its public mission exemplifies good government.